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Unused gift cards can feel like wasted money. Here’s what to do if you have them after a store goes out of business

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

Erin McCarthy | The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)Ashley Battista Ridolfi had been saving her spa gift card for the final weeks of her pregnancy.Her husband gave it for her birthday in February, knowing she’d enjoy a premium massage — valued around $150 — at Toppers Spa, a place she’d patronized several times in the past five years.Ridolfi, 37, of Eagleville, Pennsylvania, thought of the unused gift card immediately when she saw an article last week about the regional chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all its locations. “I had not had the opportunity to use it yet, and I was planning on using it in the next six weeks or so,” she said Thursday.Ridolfi, a sales and marketing director, said she hasn’t been able to find contact information for the company online. She took to a Facebook group of Toppers customers, a forum where other users wrote that they had hundreds to thousands of dollars in unused gift cards or account credits, and asked if anyone had heard what to do with unused ...

Cape and Islands DA calls on Merrick Garland to investigate the DeSantis Martha’s Vineyard migrant flights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

The Cape and Islands district attorney is the latest official calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch federal criminal and civil investigations into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration’s transport of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.Cape and Islands DA Robert Galibois on Monday wrote a letter to Garland about the migrant flights last September, when 49 asylum seekers were transported from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.Galibois noted that there are “serious indications and allegations” the immigrants were tricked and fooled into making the journey.“Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise,” the DA wrote to Garland.“I am conscious of my obligation as District Attorney to investigate any potential criminal activity that occurs within my jurisdiction, regardless of...

‘Barbie’ brought crowds back to movie theaters. Will they stay?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

By Anna Helhoski | NerdWalletWhat does it take to lure people away from streaming and back into long-vacant movie theater seats? It turns out bubble-gum pink nostalgia, several dozen retail collaborations and omnipresent marketing will do the trick.In the opening weekend of “Barbie,” the highly anticipated film directed by Greta Gerwig brought in $162 million. That’s the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman and the 20th highest-grossing film opening weekend of all time, according to Box Office Mojo by IMDB Pro, a site that tracks box office revenue.In recent years, the theater-going experience seemed kaput. Dwindling attendance was largely due to a combination of pandemic closures and the proliferation of streaming services offering more film entertainment than you could consume in a lifetime. Box office declines led to closures: 2,165 screens in the U.S. closed from 2019 to 2022 — about 5.3% — according to a March report by the Cinema Fou...

US needs a win or draw to avoid risk of elimination in group play for 1st time in Women's World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The United States arrived at the Women's World Cup as the favorites to win an unprecedented third consecutive title. But after an underwhelming draw against the Netherlands, there's a real chance the Americans can be eliminated in group play for the first time in tournament history. The U.S. plays Portugal in the third and final match of Group E play, and if Portugal pulls off an upset Tuesday at Eden Park in Auckland, the Americans could be in big trouble. The United States needs to either win or draw against Portugal, one of eight teams playing in its first World Cup, to ensure the Americans continue to play in this tournament. “I think we feel like we have to win everything all the time,” said American star Megan Rapinoe. “That’s the expectation for ourselves. That’s the expectation playing for U.S. national team. It’s just kind of like, ‘Why would you come into the World Cup if you don’t think that you should win it, and if you don’t think that you c...

Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies from cancer at 70

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died. Reubens died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement. “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”The character with his too-tight gray suit, white chunky loafers and red bow tie was best known for the film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and the TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” Herman created Pee-wee when he was part of the Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings in the late 1970s. The live “Pee-wee Herman Show” debuted at a Los Angeles theater in 1981 and was a success with both...

Canada ‘strongly condemns’ Niger military coup as others threaten sanctions, cut aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is speaking out against a coup d’état in Niger, but hasn’t joined other nations in threatening to cut aid to the West African country.Last Wednesday, a faction of Niger’s military claimed to have overthrown the country’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum after detaining him in his palace.In a tweet Friday evening, Global Affairs Canada wrote that Ottawa “strongly condemns the attempted coup” in Niger and calls for Bazoum’s release.“We reaffirm our support for Niger’s democracy and reiterate our call for President Bazoum’s release,” the department wrote, while expressing support for the Economic Community of West African States, a group of 15 countries known as ECOWAS.That bloc has threatened to sanction leaders of the military junta and send in troops if Bazoum isn’t restored to power within a week.Britain and the European Union have pulled aid from the country, while Washington has mulled following ...

Native American tribes in Oklahoma will keep tobacco deals, as lawmakers override governor’s veto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Native American tribes in Oklahoma will get to keep their existing agreements on how they share money from tobacco sales with the state.The Oklahoma House voted on Monday to override Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto of a bill that extends agreements on selling tobacco for another year. In a bipartisan vote during a special session, the Republican-controlled House met the two-thirds vote needed to override. The Senate overrode the governor’s veto last week.As a result, any tribe with an existing agreement on tobacco sales can opt to extend the terms of that agreement until Dec. 31, 2024. Leaders from several of the state’s most powerful tribes were in the gallery for Monday’s vote.The override is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the Republican governor and several Oklahoma-based tribes. Stitt, himself a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has said he wants to adjust the compact language to make sure tribes don’t expand where they sell tobacco a...

New Hampshire nurse, reportedly kidnapped in Haiti, had praised country for its resilience

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

A New Hampshire nurse, who has reportedly been kidnapped in Haiti, has described Haitians as “resilient people” in a video about her work for a nonprofit Christian ministry in the country.“They’re full of joy, and life and love. I’m so blessed to know so many amazing Haitians,” Alix Dorsainil says in a video on the website of the ministry she works for, El Roi Haiti. Dorsainvil and her daughter were kidnapped Thursday, the organization said in a statement over the weekend. El Roi Haiti, which runs a school and ministry in Port au Prince, said the two were taken from campus. Dorsainvil is the wife of the program’s director, Sandro Dorsainvil. That happened the same day that the U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” in the country and ordered nonemergency personnel to leave there amid growing security concerns. “Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family,” El Roi president an...

Quebec trucking company ordered to reinstate driver fired for drinking and driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec trucking company has been ordered to reinstate a driver who was fired after she drank at least nine beers before she lost control of her truck on a Pennsylvania highway.Labour arbitrator Huguette April says the driver’s drinking was from alcoholism — a disability — and that trucking company Groupe Robert should have made a reasonable accommodation for her.The woman was fired after she was involved in a single-vehicle crash on June 30, 2022, which damaged the truck but caused no injuries.The arbitrator’s written decision dated July 18 says the driver told her employer about her alcoholism about a week after the crash and that she sought medical help to quit drinking.She told the arbitrator that the company could have installed an alcohol testing device in her truck after the crash, or found other work for her. Groupe Robert told the arbitrator that the employee had violated the collective agreement, which stipulated that truck drivers who drank on the ...

$1.05 billion Mega Million jackpot is among a surge in huge payouts due to more than just luck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:50 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another day, another billion dollar lottery jackpot.At least, that’s how it seems ahead of Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing for an estimated $1.05 billion top prize.It’s a huge sum of money, but such giant jackpots have become far more common, with five prizes topping $1 billion since 2021 — and one jackpot reaching $2.04 billion in 2022.The massive prizes are due in part to chance, but it’s not all happenstance. Rising interest rates coupled with changes to the odds of winning are also big reasons the prizes grow so large.HOW DO INTEREST RATES INCREASE JACKPOTS?Nearly all jackpot winners opt for a lump sum payout, which for Tuesday night’s drawing would be an estimated $527.9 million. The lump sum is the cash that a winner has actually won. The highlighted $1.05 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, which is funded by that lump sum and will be doled out annually over 30 years.That’s where ...